National News Flash 26 of 2015: NAPTOSA welcomes the postponement of 2015 Annual National Assessments (ANA)

National News

National News Flash 26 of 2015: NAPTOSA welcomes the postponement of 2015 Annual National Assessments (ANA)

NAPTOSA welcomes the joint decision to postpone the 2015 ANA until 2016. The decision was taken following lengthy deliberations between the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and unions in the Education Sector on 8 and 10 September 2015 in Cape Town and Durban respectively. The postponement will allow for the remodelling of the ANA by a joint task team that will comprise of Union Principals and Senior DBE officials. It was also agreed that the remodelling will take place before the end of 2015.

NAPTOSA furthermore welcomes the commitment by the Director-General (DG) of the DBE to improve relations between the Department and Unions as well as making more resources available for teacher development. The DG also committed to address the outstanding issues in the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) as a matter of urgency.

Members are reminded that NAPTOSA supported the initial intention of the ANA as a systemic evaluation tool, but opposed the manner in which the ANA evolved into a high-stakes annual assessment system. NAPTOSA is also not in favour of the extension of the ANA to include other grades in addition to the initial focus grades namely, Grades 3, 6 and 9.

NAPTOSA is pleased that the DBE finally adhered to Unions’ requests regarding the challenges presented by the ANA and is committed to working on remodelling the assessment system for future implementation.

A joint media briefing regarding the postponement of the 2015 ANA and the remodelling of the system will be held by the DG and Union Principals at OR Tambo International Airport on 11 September 2015 at 12:00.